The 2023 MLB season has officially come to an end! The race is over, and our teams have been set. With many of the playoff teams in different places, there’s lots of diversity to see this Postseason. Us baseball fans have been beyond blessed with a lot of special moments and players this season, but the best is yet to come. Without further ado, its time to review our first round matchups, and their strengths.

National League Wild Card #1: Phillies vs Marlins

The first of the two Wild Card matchups that we will be taking a look at is the matchup of the Philadelphia Phillies, and Miami Marlins. Both of these teams are coming in after playing in the loaded National League East, and falling short of the division title to the Atlanta Braves.

The Phillies come into this matchup after playing solid baseball all season, and finishing with an impressive 90 win season. Their offense consists of some of the biggest names in baseball, but also some of the best role players in the league. The Phillies found solid production in Bryson Stott, as he posted an almost 4 fWAR season in 2023. Bryce Harper returned halfway through the 2023 season, which is a huge help given his postseason history and heroics. Trea Turner started hitting at a historic level following his standing ovation, as well as players like Brandon Marsh, and Nick Castellanos being forced offensively. This production from key offensive pieces, paired with their experience in the World Series last year makes this offense hard to challenge in most areas. On the pitching side of things, Aaron Nola, and Zach Wheeler will surely be tough opponents.

As for the Miami Marlins, their offense will relatively be led by Luis Arraez, who’s batting title winning season significantly helped the Marlins odds this year. Arraez is currently battling some injuries, and it’s unclear if he will be able to return in the playoffs. Although there is hope, as he is not currently on the injured list, and he took an at-bat during the Marlins series in Pittsburgh. Aside from Arraez, the Marlins have slugger Jake Burger, who’s 119 wRC+ and fantastic barrel rates are some of the best in baseball. The Marlins also have 2023 all-star Jorge Soler, who hit 36 homers, and recorded a wRC+ of 126 this year. Josh Bell has also been swinging a hot bat since being traded, and Jazz Chisholm always has star capabilities inside of his game. The Marlins offense can be spotty at times, which is especially concerning given their pitching injuries. Last year’s Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara is done for the season, as well as an injury Eury Pérez who just recently went on the 15-day IL. However, the Marlins can still get solid innings from Jesús Luzardo, and Braxton Garrett. Luzardo’s most recent start was a 7.1 inning, 10 strikeout performance, which just goes to show how good he can be.

Overall, I personally will be going with the Phillies to win this series due to their Postseason experience and the Marlins injury problems. The Marlins offense also has the tendency to be inconsistent outside of a few players, and going up against the Phillies starting pitching may be too much of a challenge for them to handle. The Marlins missing superstar pitchers such as Eury Pérez, and Sandy Alcantara will severely hurt them, as the Phillies offense will have a much easier time against their remaining starters.

National League Wild Card #2: Brewers vs Diamondbacks

The second of the two National League Wild Card games is between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers and Diamondbacks come into the Postseason in very different situations, as the Brewers won the National League Central, while the Diamondbacks were the surprise team in the National League West.

Before the season, the Diamondbacks were a young and exciting team who many viewed as a team on the rise, but still a few players away from being a legit contender. But, they surprised a lot of people. The Diamondbacks are mostly made up of rookies, and exciting young stars. Corbin Carroll was coming off of a large extension following his rookie season, and he came into the first months of the season as an MVP candidate. Granted, his production slowed down as Ronald Acuña Jr., and Mookie Betts rose, but he still finished the season with a 133 wRC+, and almost a 6 fWAR. Carroll was joined in the outfield by all-star Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who after being dealt in the offseason was looking to make some noise in the desert, and that he did. Gurriel was fantastic in the first half, but slowed down to finish the season with a wRC+ of 106, which is just above league average. Young rookies Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy are still trying to find their footing, but both can be impact players. Tommy Pham is a solid outfielder as well. The Diamondbacks have also found some production in their infield, as Ketel Marte put together a 127 wRC+ season, Geraldo Perdomo was an all-star and showed spurts of brilliance, and Christian Walker continued to slug away at first base, as he hit 33 homers. Gabriel Moreno has also had a solid rookie season in Arizona. Their pitching staff also has some of the best potential in baseball, as Zac Gallen has looked like a Cy Young caliber starter, as he will be one of the top Postseason starters available. Alongside Gallen, their rotation consists of Merrill Kelly, and young starters such as Brandon Pfaddt, and more. Paul Sewald is a solid option from the bullpen, as he should be a lights out closer for the Dbacks.

The Brewers are currently in a completely different place in their organization than the Diamondbacks currently are. Instead of a team on the rise, you could argue they’re continuing their peak, as they enter the Postseason as division champs. The Brewers offense is led by Christian Yelich, who returned to greatness this year, as he hit just under 20 homers with a 122 wRC+ and 4.1 fWAR. Alongside Yelich, Mark Canha has looked like a really solid option for the Brewers since his acquisition. Before his injury, Garrett Michell looked like a star on the rise, but was kept off the field for most of the season. But thanks to MLB’s playoff eligibility rules, he’ll be back in cheese land for October. Sal Frelick will also be playing in the Postseason for the first time ever. The Brewers infield is led by Willy Adames. Although he had a down year for his standards, he’s still able to come through in the clutch for the Brew Crew. The Brewers standout the most on the pitching side of things however, as they currently possess arguably the best starting three pitchers in all of baseball in Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, and Freddy Peralta. Considering that the Wild Card is now a three game series, this trio is a huge threat to anyone who has to face them. Their bullpen has shown signs of brilliance, as Devin Williams leads the way out of the closer role. But, arms like Joel Payamps, and Abner Uribe are both really reliable options.

Personally, I think the edge in this matchup definitely goes to Milwaukee. This is mainly due to their MLB experience, and strong pitching staff. As I previously mentioned, the Diamondbacks are relatively young, and I think this unpolished roster might have an effect on them during the playoffs. Especially when you consider that the Brewers have arguably the strongest top 3 starters in all of baseball, which just presents more challenges for the Diamondbacks young offense. Regardless, I think this series may be fairly close overall, and potentially one of the more interesting matchups in the first round of the Postseason.

American League Wild Card #1: Rangers vs Rays

This matchup between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays has the chance to be one of the best in the Postseason in my opinion. The Rays come into the playoffs as a 99 win team, and losing out of the division by just 2 games. The Rangers are fresh off the race for the American League West, as 3 teams had the chance to take home the division title, but ultimately it went to the Houston Astros.

Starting off with the 90 win Texas Rangers, their offense is arguably one of the most well rounded offenses in all of baseball when it’s playing to their full capabilities. The most obvious weapon the Rangers have had this season is superstar Corey Seager. If Seager had played a full season, and Shohei Ohtani didn’t perform as well, we may be talking about him as the front runner AL MVP. Even though he will likely finish as the runner up, what he did this season was incredible. He hit 33 home runs, a wRC+ just below 170, with an fWAR just over 6. Alongside Seager, the Rangers also have another expensive and talented middle infielder in Marcus Semien, who’s been a huge threat this year as well. Adolis García was a big threat offensively in the outfield, as well as the Rangers finding decent production from Leody Tavares, and Robbie Grossman. In the infield, Nathaniel Lowe, Josh Jung, and Ezequiel Duran were all really solid options for the Rangers this year, as all of them provided much needed offensive help. All-star catcher Jonah Heim was also really good when he was healthy. The one place where the Rangers were supposed to succeed has many questioning them, including myself, and that’s when it comes to their pitching staff. The Rangers have seen good innings from Jordan Montgomery, but they’ve also had the worst bullpen in baseball on top of tons of injuries. Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and more are all on the IL. This matched with the fact that the Rangers bullpen has blown so many games in the later parts of the game makes me really nervous about their odds this series.

As for the Tampa Bay Rays, they’ve had to face all the adversity in the world, yet they’ve remained resilient. The Rays have had arguably the worst injury luck in all of baseball, as it seemed like ace after ace went down with significant arm injuries during the season. Shane McClanahan, Drew Rausmussen, Jeffry Springs, and more have all been struck with long-term arm injuries. On top of this, the Rays clubhouse had to deal with the Wander Franco drama, which of course hurt the team’s odds. Brandon Lowe will also miss the rest of the season. But, nonetheless, the Rays still managed to walk away with 99 wins. The Rays have found really good hitting value in almost their whole team, but some of the best hitters include Randy Arozarena, Yandy Díaz, Jose Siri, Josh Lowe, Isaac Parades, and more. The Rays offense will find ways to win, as they are beyond talented. Yandy Díaz is coming into the playoffs after winning the batting title for example. Even with their bad luck in injuries and outside situations, the Rays remain to be one of the best teams in baseball, and I fully expect this to translate into the playoffs. The Rays pitching staff has found innings in Aaron Civale, a deadline acquisition for the team back in the middle parts of the year. The Rays haven’t found Civale in the same form as he pitched for Cleveland, but he should still be a reliable arm in the Postseason. Tyler Glasnow, Zach Eflin, and Taj Bradly have all shown signs of greatness as well. In addition, the Rays bullpen is filled with lights out arms such as Robert Stephenson, who has blossomed into an incredible reliver with Tampa Bay.

Overall, I like the Rays odds when it comes to the series against the Rangers due to their much better pitching staff, and ability to play more consistently. As I previously mentioned with the Rangers, their bullpen regularly lost them games, and that’s a big deal in the playoffs, especially a best of three series. The Rangers almost lost their way out of a playoff spot as well, which doesn’t make me feel fantastic about their Postseason odds. But, this is probably the best matchup in the Wild Card round, as this series could truly go either way in my opinion, and it just comes down to how the bullpen preforms.

American League Wild Card #2: Twins vs Blue Jays

Similarly to some other matchups covered in this article, the Twins and Blue Jays both come into the Wild Card round in completely different situations. The Minnesota Twins are the winners of the incredibly weak American League Central division, as they finished with 87 wins. On the other hand, the Toronto Blue Jays managed to make some noise and get into the American League Wild Card, despite a race that came down to the last few games of the year.

As I previously mentioned, the Twins were the winners of the American League Central, and are arguably the worst team playing in this year’s Postseason. Regardless, the Twins found ways to win. In their outfield, Willi Castro, Trevor Larnach, Max Kepler, Michael A. Taylor, Matt Wallner, and Byron Buxton all assisted the Twins on offense. Willi Castro was one of the more underrated players on the Twins roster, as it seemed like he came through when the team needed him often. In the infield, Eduardo Julien jumped onto the scene when he was promoted, and he significantly helped the Twins succeed offensively as they made their push for the division. Kyle Farmer was a solid hitter for the Twins as well. The consistent bat of Jorge Polanco hit to a 118 wRC+, as he continued his solid career. Where the Twins really shined however was in their pitching staff. Sonny Gray came out of nowhere, and put up an ace caliber season, as his 154 ERA+ was an incredibly impressive mark. The Twins also saw Joe Ryan show some signs of being a legitimate ace. Baily Ober also showed flashes of brilliance at times during the season. In addtion, Jhoan Duran is as good of a closer as anyone, as his triple-digit pitches are some of the best in the entire league. Overall, I do believe the Twins are the weakest team overall in the playoffs, but they still have areas where they can be a well rounded team.

The Blue Jays on the other hand, are one of my sleeper teams, as they could likely make a run as the surprise team this Postseason. The Blue Jays have as much star power as anyone this Postseason, which will really help them as they get further into the playoff games. The Blue Jays outfield has the capability to do great things, as the combination of George Springer, Kevin Kiermaier, and Daulton Varsho have unlimited potential. Springer is used to the big stage that is the Postseason, which will help him mightily. Although he played just over 100 games, Brandon Belt was almost a 140 wRC+ hitter for the Blue Jays, which may make him a key piece to this offense in their playoff push. In the infield, the Blue Jays have even more star power. Although this group has gone through a lot of ups and downs, there is no denying what Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Matt Chapman, Whit Merrifield, and even Cavan Biggio are capable of. Guerrero has all the power in the world, and if he could get back to his 2021 form, his playoff run could be legendary. Alejandro Kirk is a solid option at the catcher position as well. However, the place where I think this team will really shine is their pitching staff. The Blue Jays rotation may be the most well rounded rotation in baseball, as Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Yusei Kikuchi, Chris Bassitt, and Hyun Jin Ryu are some of the most consistent arms the game has to offer. This rotation is definitely capable of holding oposing teams to 2-4 runs per game, which gives this offense a lot of room to succeed. When you get to the bullpen, you feel even better with an electric arm such as Jordan Romano being available. In my eyes, if things click at the right time, the sky is the limit for the Blue Jays in October, but they could also fall apart before our very eyes if things do not click.

Overall, I’m definitely going to pick the Blue Jays to take home this series, and move on the the ALDS. This is due to Toronto’s strong pitching staff, and the weak Twins roster. As I previously mentioned, the Blue Jays I think could be this year’s surprise team if everything clicks, and I fully expect it to.

Recap

The 2023 MLB Postseason is set to be one of the more enjoyable and exciting playoffs we’ve seen in awhile, and the Wild Card series is only the beginning. Regardless of who comes out, it’s going to be one fun ride.

To recap, I have the Blue Jays over the Twins, Rays over Rangers, Phillies over Marlins, and Brewers over Diamondbacks.